This is how I thought I was soft:

In September, I sustained an impartial quad tear. So I couldn't run for quite a bit. I'd cycle like mad, use the elliptical, and try to run, thinking the endorphins would be at such point, that I could run. That didn't happen. At one point, I found I could run barefoot for some strange reason, so I ran laps around the footballl field in my barefeet, in the middle of the day. I'd be driving down the highway, when the crisp fall air would be arriving, I'd put down all the windows in my car, emulating some form of distant godawful weather, so when I would return, at least I was acclimated to the harsh, colder climates.
Then, once the tear mended, I began running, lightly. And then came my first 20 miler for Disney training. Oops, dislodged that f-ing S-1 joint again. Chiropractor, physical therapy, all that jazz.
So then, as I began to rehabilitate that, it became evident quite clear, that my left adductor was bearing alot of the compensatory weight...yay.
Throughout all of these, I considered myself inept, and considered myself to be soft, even though I was still training, just not running.

Now, with the hay in the barn, there ultimately isn't anything worth adding to my training except to rest, which brings makes me digress

Rest, to the endurance athlete is synonmous with soft, or the qualities therein. It is understood as predominance of timidity over courage; an appetite for ease over the tove of adventure. It is an obstacle not easily surmounted.

As I taper, I miss the excitement and danger, that comes with even the most peacefull of progress.
Tapering can also be a place of sheer fear, and unholy terror. Every twitch, movement, and irrational firing by some distanct synapse. can trigger a multitude of emotions, associated with ineptitude, physical maladity, and triple guessing even the most certain of outcomes.

There is one thing that is certain. It has been said, that for running to become part of one's life, it requires a degree of submission. The quality of a runner is not the same as the coffee shop one frequents, the purified mineral water you drink, or your taste in foreign film. It is quite literally part of who you are. For better or worse, being a runner is a part of your definition of yourself.